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Fifty-five percent of Americans believe that Ketanji Brown Jackson should be confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court, according to a recent Monmouth University national poll.
Driving the news: Jackson's nomination hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee are scheduled to start later on Monday. If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the bench.
By the numbers: Nearly half of those polled believe that she is either "very" qualified (33%) or "somewhat" qualified (14%) for the position — only 21% say she should not be confirmed and 9% say she is not qualified.
- The poll also found that 46% of respondents believe that it is "very important" that the Supreme Court "look like the racial, ethnic and gender composition of the country as a whole."
- Fifty-three percent of respondents said they approved of Biden's decision to make his first Supreme Court nominee a Black woman.
Zoom in: Among Black Americans, 73% say Jackson should be confirmed and 80% approve of President Biden's decision to pick a Black woman as his first nominee for the high court.
- Support was also overwhelming among those who identified as Democrats, with 82% saying Jackson should be confirmed. On the other hand, only 29% of Republicans say she should be confirmed (42% say she should not).
Details: The poll was conducted by phone from March 10-14, with 809 respondents.
Go deeper: McConnell: No final decision yet on confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson